H-Coal Pilot Plant: Skin Contamination Survey at the H-Coal Pilot Plant, E and H-13.

摘要

Occupational skin disease potential caused by process-material contamination of workers' skin is a major health concern within the coal-conversion industry. Fluorescence of coal-liquefaction process material caused by excitation with ultraviolet light is one technique being used to monitor skin contamination. A developmental instrument, the Spill Spotter, invented by Oak Ridge National Laboratory, can quantitate fluorescence of coal-liquefaction process materials on workers' skin. The Spill Spotter was loaned to Ashland Synthetic Fuels, Inc. to monitor skin contamination of workers at the H-Coal Pilot Plant. Objectives of the study were to evaluate the degree of skin contamination using qualitative (blacklight) and quantitative (Spill Spotter) methods, to determine the effectiveness of showering in removing contamination, and to determine the quantitative relationship between Spill Spotter response and skin-contamination concentration. Field measurements at the pilot plant show wide ranges of background skin fluorescence caused by differing skin types and due to bodily location and pigmentation. Visible dirt on the skin partially quenched the fluorescence response of the Spill Spotter. Nonetheless, by using appropriate controls, and by utilizing discretion to minimize the quenching factor, fluorescent skin contamination on selected process workers was identified and quantified. The Spill Spotter measurements were also compared to skin screening using a hand-held blacklight. One group of plant operators was shown to exhibit a two-to three-fold increase in fluorescence during the work shift. Showering reduced the skin fluorescence to pre-shift levels in most cases, indicating that the fluorescent process material can be removed by washing. (ERA citation 08:034997)